Darkest internet not so dark; maybe the young-ones are safe

by TDH | January 14, 2009 at 05:16 pm

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A 49 state attorneys general strong task force has concluded that concerns regarding internet predators have been largely overblown. The Internet Safety Technical Task Force focused on popular social networking sites such as MySpace and Facebook and found that issues such as online bullying might be of greater concern than sexual predators at large online.

The task force, led by the Berkman Center for Internet and Society at Harvard University, looked at scientific data on online sexual predators and found that children and teenagers are unlikely to be propositioned by adults online. In the cases that do occur, the report says, teenagers are typically willing participants and are already at risk because of poor home environments, substance abuse or other problems.

Not all are convinced, however. N.C. Attorney General Roy Cooper, who pushed most heavily for the task force, still believes that many child predators abuse such social networking sites to find their prey,

"Law enforcement officers across the country are telling attorneys general that children are being solicited every day and that technology companies must do more to keep children safer," Cooper said.

The task force was led by the Berkman Center for Internet and Society at Harvard University and the full report is availabe online.

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